Closing the London Metal Exchange ring could hinder liquidity, increase volatility, and affect pricing, and the exchange should therefore keep it open, according to the acting managing director for Minmetals (UK).Speaking during a panel at the virtual Fastmarkets Copper Seminar, Liangmin Gu said that in Minmetals' experience, volumes to determine settlement prices had fallen significantly since th...Read More

The domestic price for reinforcing bar (rebar) in Brazil rose slightly during March, with the vast majority of mills delaying previously expected increases to April, market participants told Fastmarkets.While some local steelmakers had raised prices by 5-8% in February, a few who did not decided for a 6% increase in March. For April, at least two mills were indicating an average 15% rise, but this...Read More

Domestic flat steel prices in Turkey continued to soar in the week to Friday March 12, but buyers were hesitant about booking big tonnages for July production, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil producers were accepting orders to be produced in July, but buyers were reluctant to have to wait a minimum of four months for large quantities. Most market participants said tha...Read More

The European Commission's anti-dumping investigation into Chinese graphite electrodes sales into Europe has sparked a rush for material with market participants making plans in case duties are imposed, according to graphite electrode consultants GES.Since the EC declared on February 17 it was investigating whether Chinese graphite electrodes producers had broken anti-dumping rules, steel mills hav...Read More

Micon Awarded Front End Engineering Design and Definitive Feasibility StudySPONSOREDmicon internationalRex ready to rollSPONSOREDrex mineralsDavyhurst back producing gold; can it produce a lot more?SPONSOREDora banda miningSolaris Resources on winning streak in EcuadorSPONSOREDsolaris resourcesBHP's manager for Australian exploration, Jamie King, told one of the final sessions of PDAC this week th...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationMontreal-based TRQ is 51% owned by Rio and holds 66% of the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine (which is managed and operated by Rio) in Mongolia, with the government holding the remaining 34%.Read More

Hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) and color-coated coil prices in Turkey rose further in the week to Friday March 12 and some producers stopped accepting new orders at the end of the week, sources told Fastmarkets.The order books are expected to open next week with higher offer prices, sources said.Coated coil prices are increasing on strong demand and also higher prices for hot-rolled coil, the base pr...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe company reported a new discovery, East Ridge at Red Chris, 300m east of East Zone.A diamond hole returned 198m at 0.89 grams per tonne gold and 0.83% copper from 800m, including 76m at 1.8gpt gold and 1.5% copper, open in all directions.Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSORE...Read More

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday March 12, with prices generally consolidating after recent weakness/consolidation. A lack of follow-through selling suggests underlying sentiment is still bullish.United States stimulus and European Central Bank support for a continued low interest rate environment are underpinnin...Read More

German steelmaker Salzgitter has started operations at its Wind Hydrogen project for hydrogen production from electricity generated by wind power, the company announced on Thursday March 11.In partnership with Avacon and gas producer Linde, Wind Hydrogen Salzgitter, WindH2, is part of the company's plans to decarbonize the steel industry through the SALCOS (SAlzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking technolog...Read More

A shortage of material in the domestic European hot-rolled coil market, coupled with good demand, supported a slight rise in prices on Friday March 12, sources told Fastmarkets. Buyers also spoke of deliveries being delayed, adding pressure on the distribution chain. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?793.00 ($947.96) per tonne on...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationRio can earn up to 75% of five tenements in the West Arunta region which are considered prospective for iron oxide-copper-gold mineralisation. The company already holds the ground surrounding Tali.Read More

Junior gold developer Bluestone Resources is changing tack as it looks to bring its Cerro Blanco project in Guatemala into production through an open pit development scenario which promises to deliver higher returns and more benefits to local stakeholders.The company recently released a "game changer" preliminary economic assessment for a compact open pit mine which doubled the Cerro Blanco gold r...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 9 points in pre-opening traded.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the February Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was a gain of 0.5% versus an increase of 1.3% in January. Actual was an increase of 0.5%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of...Read More

Vale has started commissioning wet processing operations at its Timbopeba site, which is part of its Mariana iron ore complex in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, which will increase the mine's iron ore production capacity by 7 million tonnes per year.The commissioning process is expected to last for two months, and will  increase production capacity to 12 million...Read More

Increasing scrap flows and bearish appetites led to softer prices in the majority of international steel scrap markets in the week to Friday March 12.While the markets in the United States, China and India appeared to be static over the period, a flurry of buying activity in Vietnam was intended to capitalize on lower Japanese scrap prices, while Taiwanese traders made hasty sales in a bid to avoi...Read More

Trading activity in the pig iron import market in the United States slowed down during the week to Friday March 12 because buyers have restocked, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $570 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.The latest deal in the US for low-phosphorus pig...Read More

The price of austenitic steel scrap in the UK and Europe fell further in the past seven days following the sharp drop in the nickel market last week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?1,050-1,120 ($1,465-1,563) per tonne on Friday, down by ?30-50 per tonne week on week fro...Read More

Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan moved down in the week to Friday March 12 following a correction in the international scrap market, sources have told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $450.83 per tonne on Friday, down from $460.86 per tonne one week previously.A deal was heard at $450 per to...Read More

Is the world on the brink of a fourth wave of increasing coronavirus infections and deaths?Based on the latest data, that's a possibility that cannot be ruled out right now. Here's why…After the virus broke out in Wuhan, China, it spread rapidly to Milan, Italy, where a new strain called the Italian Strain became much more contagious. The Italian Strain spread through Europe and then to New...Read More